Suai Media Space

The Birds Still Fly is a performance in Portuguese and Tetun by two Timorese children on the 12th November 2000, outside the gates of the Santa Cruz Cemetry where the country commemorated the Santa Cruz Massacre for the first time after Independence from Indonesia.

Episodes 1 & 3

The ‘Letter to Suai’ written by Jen Hughes serves as an introduction to this series of videos documenting the 9th Anniversary of the Santa Cruz Massacre, as well as a potted history of the activism of residents in Port Phillip whose solidarity with East Timor has impacted on their history. Clicking on ‘Letter to Suai’ will take you to the introduction that was written to friends in Suai, many of who will only get to see this footage for the first time.

This re-enactment of the Santa Cruz Massacre that  took place on the the 12th November 2000 tells a very clear story of the impact of that horrendous day on the youth of East Timor and how they feel now. The title ‘Seeking the Light’ is taken from the drama written by the drama group shown here.

Episode 3 & 4

A Mother’s Lament at the Ninth Anniversary of the Santa Cruz Massacre comes as a surprise to everybody. When this woman burst from the crowd I think she spoke for many in the voice suppressed by the order of the day. Since I video taped this footage I learned that this woman lost three children in the Santa Cruz Massacre on November 12, 1991. Little wonder she felt justified in letting her feelings fly and appeals to God for a reason.

Episodes 1 & 3

One of the tasks of this site is to help bring justice to the people of East Timor by keeping memories of the atrocities against them alive through ‘Acts of Remembrance’. My friendship with East Timor began with a massacre – the Suai Church Massacre.

Veronica carrying her commemorative tais in a massive procession from St Motael Church to the Santa Cruz Cemetry November 12, 2000

This November 12, 2007 is the 15th Anniversary of the Santa Cruz Massacre. Follow this link to learn the published history www.etan.org/timor/SntaCRUZ.htm. This moment in East Timor’s history is particularly sad, for East Timor lost 271 young teenagers and students. Either dead or missing it left many people with the loss of all their children and no bodies around which to build a mourning process.

The woman in the procession carrying the tais is Veronica Pereira. In an extraordinary act of love and remembrance Veronica wove five tais with the names of all the youth who died or disappeared into them, to create an everlasting symbol of their sacrifice. The documentary about Veronica will be uploaded next year under the title ‘Returning the Tais’ to Timor.

Social Events
This weekend about twenty young Timorese who are in Melbourne are performing a play written by Filomena dos Reis that she describes as “telling the story of the Timorese youth of the past, present and future.“